Papermakers&#39; felt conditioner



O 1 19 A J. CIRRITO ETAL 3 279 977 PAPERMAKERS' FELT CONDITIONER 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 15, 1963 Oct. 18, 1966 A. J. CIRRITO ETAL3,279,977

PAPERMAKERS' FELT CONDITIONER 2 Sheets-$heet 2 Filed Dec. 15, 1963 xiFl.

. sponding with that of the rolls.

United States Patent 3,279,977 PAPERMAKERS FELT CONDITIONER Anthony J.Cirrito, Grafton, and Nicolas M. Reitzel, Boylston, Mass., assignors toRice Barton Corporation, Worcester, Mass., a corporation ofMassachusetts Filed Dec. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 330,318 6 Claims. (Cl.162-276) This invention relates to felt conditioning apparatus, and moreparticularly to apparatus useful in removing liquid from papermakersfelts by the combined action of centrifugal force and blown gas.

It is an object of the invention to provide apparatus capable withsimplicity and practicality of simultaneously applying to liquid in afelt forces at least in part identical in direction and sense butdifferent in source, certain of said forces being imposed centrifugally,while the remainder thereof are imposed by application of gas (whetherair, wet steam, or other) under pressure to a surface of the felt tomove the gas therethrough and against said liquid.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such apparatuscapable of operating efiiciently even though providing for moving a widefelt about a small radius capable of giving high centrifugal force,conditions notoriously productive of undue bending in papermakingmachinery.

Generally speaking, the invention provides for training the felt aboutat least one roller with a grooved outer surface and mounted forrotation at a speed corresponding to the surface speed of the felt,grooves in the outer surface providing in use communication between asource of gas pressure and a surface of the felt, means being providedto deter gas movement out of the grooves except through the felt.

Other objects, advantages, and features will appear from the followingdescription of a preferred embodiment, taken together with the attacheddrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view, partially in section and partially broken away,of a presently preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken at 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken at 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view taken at 44 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of the felt conditioning rollassembly of FIG. 1, but illustrating the entire width of same.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings, there is shown apapermakers felt 10, which moves over rolls 12 and 14 and stationarysupports 16 at a surface speed corre- Rolls 12 and 14 are rotatablymounted on ball bearings 18, 19 carried by shafts 20 and 22. Outboardshaft 20 is carried by outboard support 24 and interior support 16.Inboard shaft 22 is carried by a pair of interior supports, one of thembeing support 16 and the other being shown at 25 in FIG. 5. Also shownin FIG. 5 are a second inboard shaft 26 and a second outboard shaft 27,this preferred embodiment being provided with a total of four shafts,each with its grooved roll four inches in outside diameter and with eachgrooved roll 70 inches long. The number of roll elements to be employedin any particular embodiment will of course depend on the width of thefelt and its operating speed and tension, in order to provide forsufficiently high operating speeds and sufficiently small deflection.These rolls may suitably be operated at a surface speed of, for example,2900 feet per minute.

Air under pressure is introduced through pipe 30 into manifold 32 whichextends across the machine and communicates through holes 34 withchamber 36, with which grooves 37 around rolls 12 and 14 alsocommunicate.

3,279,977 Patented Oct. 18, 1966 The chamber 36 is defined by, inaddition to manifold 32 and rolls 12 and 14, a pair of upper and lowersealing strips 38 and by, at the outboard end of each outboard roll, adeckle seal 40. The sealing strips 38 extend across the width of themachine, and may suitably be made adjustable toward or away from therolls 12 and 14 and interior supports 16. The sealing strips 38 aresecured to manifold 32 by means of screws 42. The deckle seals 40 arealso carried by the manifold 32, to which they are secured by screws 44(only one of which is shown).

Also carried by manifold 32 are the interior supports 16, only one ofwhich is shown, although one is found between each adjacent pair ofrolls across the width of the machine. Supports 16 have an outer surfaceof the same character as do rolls 12 and 14. Their outside surfaces areformed on a radius, of angular size as great as the angle through whichthe felt is turned, corresponding to the radius of the rolls 12 and 14.The grooves in the supports 16 are of the same width and depth as in therolls 12 and 14; both width and depth may suitably be inch, and thegrooves may suitably be evenly spaced, four to the inch. Thus supports16 look to the felt moving around them just as do the rolls on each sideof each support, except of course that the supports 16 unlike the rolls12 and 14 are not rotating, although friction may be reduced as desiredby means of the air introduced between the supports and the felt throughthe grooves. Air passes through the felt from all the grooves, in boththe rolls and the supports.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, pan 50 extends for the width of themachine, to catch water removed by the combined action on the liquid inthe felt of centrifugal force and air pressure and movement against andthrough the felt. The water leaves by drain 52. More than a single turnmay be given the felt successively, using apparatus according to theinvention successively spaced, if desired; these may be placed within asingle pan or a multiplicity of pans. Each flinger, defined by one setof rolls and correspondingly curved supports, is in contact with asurface of the felt in use; the felt is normally a closed loop, but theflinger may be on either side of the felt. Wash water may be used forcleaning prior to passage over a flinger according to the invention, ifdesired.

The present invention does not rest in any respect for novelty orinvention on the broad concept of simultaneously applying to the liquidin a felt centrifugal force and gas pressure giving at least in partforce coincident in direction and sense.

Other embodiments of our invention within the scope of the followingclaims will occur to those skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for conditioning papermakers felt which comprises, with asaid felt, at least one roll mounted for rotation for training said feltthereover, a multiplicity of channels in said roll and extending fromportions of the surface thereof out of position to contact said felt toportions of said surface in position to contact said felt, and a chamberadapted to hold gas under pressure in communication with said channelsat said portions of said surface out of position to contact said felt.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said channels are1 groovesextending around the outer surface of said to 3. Apparatus forconditioning papermakers felt which comprises, with a said felt, amultiplicity of rolls mounted for rotation about a common axis, at leastone support, and a chamber, said rolls having the same outside diameterand each adjacent pair of said rolls having between them and adjacenteach of them a said support, said support including an outer surfacedefined at least in part by moving a line parallel to said axis aboutsaid axis for at least some angular distance about a radius equal tohalf said diameter, said rolls and said support including channelsconnecting said chamber with portions of the surfaces of said rolls andsupport in position to contact said felt, said angular distancecorresponding to the angular change in direction given said felt in saidapparatus.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 in which said chamber is defined in part bya pair of sealing strips extending across the width of the felt betweenthe felt and said rolls and said support respectively as the felt movesonto and 01f of said rolls and support, and in part by a pair ofoutboard deckle seals.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 in which said channels 4 6. The apparatus ofclaim 5 which includes four said rolls and three said supports, and inwhich said diameter is not more than four inches.

References Cited by the Examiner v UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,011,54412/1961 Lippke 162-359 X 3,056,164- 10/1962 Reichcl et a1. 13415 X3,057,079 10/1962 Schmidt 34-156 FOREIGN PATENTS 377,440 6/1923 Germany.

are grooves extending around the outer surface of said 15 DONALLSYLVESTER Primary Examiner rolls and said support.

HOWARD R. CAINE, Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING PARPERMAKERS'' FELT WHICH COMPRISES, WITHA SAID FELT, AT LEAST ONE ROLL MOUNTED FOR ROTATION FOR TRAINING SAIDFELT THEREOVER, A MULTIPLICITY OF CHANNELS IN SAID ROLL AND EXTENDINGFROM PORTIONS OF THE SURFACE THEREOF OUT OF POSITION TO CONTACT SAIDFELT TO PORTIONS OF SAID SURFACE IN POSITION TO CONTACT SAID FELT, AND